Skip the usual stops like Switzerland and California on your world chocolate tour. There are more ways to experience the world of modern chocolate-making right here in India, and abroad.
The chocolate experience while flying out: All major airports across India
Some of India’s best chocolate brands and retail destinations, such as Smoor and Cococart, an upmarket chocolate retail format, have cafes in all major airports. Their chocolate-laden coffees and hot chocolate are streets ahead of any Starbucks you may buy. Smoor’s flat whites and cappuccinos are richer due to the use of Couverture chocolates that contain a higher amount of cocoa butter.
Among airlines, the best chocolate experience can be had aboard an Emirates flight. After the airline’s collab with Dublin-based Butlers Chocolates, they serve chocolate-infused coffee and bars of chocolates to first-class customers. A definite must-have is their truffles and fudge chocolates.
The new cacao frontier: Kerala
Kerala, home to several spice plantations, now also boasts modern cacao plantations that produce the best of Indian chocolate. At Malabar Cacao and Spices in Wayanad, workshops and tours introduce travellers to organic farming practices and the cacao that grows on the estate. Cacao County in the picturesque Idukki district and Cacao Trails in Kannur are boutique plantations where the focus is on preserving traditional farming methods and heritage cacao varieties.
Chocolate Tasting: Mumbai
One of the best chocolate-tasting sessions in India is conducted by Mandar Bhosale, who gave up his flourishing corporate career and moved to Pune to become a chocolate sommelier. His Confessions of a Chocolatier sessions have been wildly popular, and he engages people with stories about chocolates, the process of making them and how to savour them (much like fine wine) and find notes of wine, raspberry, nuts, and woody tones present within pure chocolate without added flavours.
The city chocolate experience: Cape Town, South Africa
In what may surprise many, Cape Town is considered the Willy Wonka town full of independent chocolatiers. De Villiers, a vegan-friendly chocolatier at Paarl Spice Route Farm, is part of the Rainforest Alliance (a non-profit working on the intersection of business, agriculture and forests) and offers a tasting of four different chocolates, among them an African Collection made from pure African cocoa beans. Huguenot Fine Chocolates lies in a valley full of rolling vineyards and fringed by mountains.
Spier Wine Farm, voted one of the 100 World’s Best Vineyards in 2021, offers delicious parings of chocolates crafted by its resident chocolatier with robust flavours from the winery’s ‘liquid treasures’. Afrikao, along the V&A Waterfront, is pioneering the art of ethical Direct Trade chocolate making in Africa. They only use cacao that comes from within Africa and has strong bonds with Tanzania's Tujikomboe Cocoa Farmer Group that grows cocoa with a high flavour profile.
The chocolate heartland: Mexico
Mayans and Aztecs were among the first to cultivate cacao and are said to have binged on a bitter cocoa concoction called Xocoatl, described as a “cold and heavy” brew served during ceremonies or other such occasions. The chocolate experience in Mexico has evolved to include local chocolatiers, who make the most sinful hot chocolates and chocolate bars.
At Hacienda Cacaotera Jesus Maria, travellers can book a stay, visit the cacao plantations and factory, and explore local cuisine and music. The San Miguel de Allende Chocolate Tour takes travellers to various chocolatiers, introduces them to Mexico’s 4,000-year-old chocolate history and throws in a big meal which includes a savoury chocolate dish.
Climate-resistant cacao: Peru
The biggest challenge to chocolate today is the warming weather. However, there is some hope. The forests of Peru are home to wild strains of cacao which are resilient to climate change. Scientists estimate that they will continue to thrive and expand by more than a third by 2070. What you may get is rather expensive and exclusive chocolates, as it is difficult to convert these plants into cash crops.
Peru offers a tour of its Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and its wild cacao forests, which takes travellers deep into the Andean homelands, where they stay with local families in comfortable home stays, explore forests for wild cacao and other forest produce, and visit the small cocoa farms, where locals produce chocolate sustainably.
Along the Ivory Coast: Côte d'Ivoire
Most of the world’s cocoa, at the moment, comes from either Côte d'Ivoire or Ghana. Head to Soubré, often called the ‘new cocoa loop’ for its lush plantations and the quality of its cacao. While the Ivory Coast produces only raw cacao (the big money is in the finished product or the chocolate), a new generation of Ivory Coast chocolatiers is trying to keep the wealth within the country.
Financed by the government and international aid agencies, the chocolatiers are turning cocoa beans into cocoa powder, beverages, chocolate bars and other goodies, helping develop a local chocolate industry. At Choco+, cacao is turned into chocolate and cocoa tea, among other products. Ivory Coast’s chocolatiers experiment with cocoa-flavoured beer, vinegar, and chocolate beverage mixed with bouye, the juice of the baobab tree’s fruit, besides pralines and chocolate bars.
The Making of Royce: Japan
The world is obsessed with the beauty and complexity of Japanese cult chocolatier, Royce’s chocolates. In the New Chitose Airport in its home base of Hokkaido, the brand has set up the Royce Chocolate World Museum and Factory. Visitors explore the history of chocolate, watch chocolatiers make chocolate behind large glass panes, take a souvenir photograph with a giant chocolate teddy bear, indulge in freshly baked products in the bakery, and buy from over 200 treats, including Royce’s popular chocolate-covered potato chips.
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